Prior to the pandemic, Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom saw nearly 21 million visitors in 2019 — that’s 1.7 million people per month. To put that in perspective, the entire state of Florida has about 22 million residents. New York City has a population of 8 million.

Throw in the populations of Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, and you have a lot of people to protect in a small geographic footprint of 46 square miles.

In 1968, long before the Magic Kingdom’s visitor list eclipsed New York’s population, the Reedy Creek Improvement District established the Reedy Creek Fire Department to protect the two cities and the amusement park. By 1976 the department was offering ALS ambulance service. And after the terrorist attacks of 2001, it added a hazmat team.

The team, Special Operation and Response, has 28 members that are cross staffed with an engine company, who respond to 911 calls with the engine and roll their hazmat squad when needed. That squad is a 2006 Spartan EVI heavy rescue rig.

The team members are all trained to the technician level and put in more than 40 hours per year of hazmat training, which they do both on and off shift. When the team trains with other entities, it is primarily law enforcement and federal agencies. That said, the team will tell you their biggest challenge is not getting enough training hours.

In addition to hazmat response, Special Operations coordinates the various special events held within the district, and provides coordination and pre-incident planning for hazardous condition mitigation and high-angle and confined-space rescue.